(1) Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a cancer thermotherapy apparatus, particularly to a cancer thermotherapy apparatus to set a human body therein and heat a given part of the human body.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
Conventionally, a variety of cancer therapy apparatus have been proposed, but these conventional cancer therapy apparatus can not heat a deep part of a human body effectively.
One of the causes is that in the conventional therapy apparatus, excited modes to maximize their electric field distribution before putting the human body therein at a center of a body axis are employed. Herein, the xe2x80x9cbody axisxe2x80x9d means a line between the head and legs of the human body. That is, if the human body is put in a cavity resonator with such an excited mode to constitute the above therapy apparatus, its predetermined preferable electric field distribution changes, so that a desired deep part of the human body can not be heated sufficiently due to its weak electric field intensity at the deep part thereof.
The other cause is that, although in the conventional therapy apparatus, a high frequency electric power equal to the resonance frequency of the cavity resonator must be applied, the resonance frequency of the cavity resonator becomes indefinite due to the large loss of the cavity resonator as the human body is put in. That is, since the resonant frequency of the cavity resonator can not be measured, the high frequency electric power equal to the resonant frequency can not be applied to the human body, so that the desired deep part of the human body can not be heated effectively by the relatively weak electric field intensity.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a cancer thermotherapy apparatus capable of heating a desired deep part of the human body effectively and thereby, performing the cancer thermotherapy for the human body effectively.
For achieving the above object, this invention relates to a cancer thermotherapy apparatus comprising an ortho-hexahedral cavity resonator and at least one loop antenna which is attached on an inner wall surface of the cavity resonator so that its loop face can be parallel to two inner wall surfaces of the cavity resonator which are opposed each other, and orthogonal and adjacent to the inner wall surface with the loop antenna.
The cancer thermotherapy apparatus of the present invention resonates, in the ortho-hexahedral cavity resonator, a high frequency electric power introduced into the cavity resonator in the direction parallel to the two inner wall surfaces of the cavity resonator on an excited mode with a constant electric field intensity. The two inner wall surfaces are opposed each other, and are orthogonal and adjacent to the inner wall surface on which the loop antenna is attached. That is, the cancer thermotherapy apparatus of the present invention resonates the introduced high frequency electric power in the direction parallel to the pair of opposed inner wall surfaces of the ortho-hexahedral cavity resonator on the excited mode with the constant electric field intensity. This thermotherapy apparatus mechanism is different from the above conventional one.
Therefore, although the high frequency electric power in the excited mode with the constant electric field intensity is applied to the human body set in the parallel direction in the cavity resonator, it is reflected at one forefront of the human body due to the difference in electric constant between the human body and the interior space of the cavity resonator. The reflected high frequency electric power is reflected again at the other forefront of the human body, and thus, the high frequency electric power is concentrated on a desired part of the human body.
The reflected high frequency electric powers are superposed at the desired part of the human body with time, and thus, the electric field intensity is increased at the desired part. As result, a deep part of the human body can be heated effectively, and the cancer spawned at the deep part can be treated effectively.
Although the above conventional cancer thermotherapy apparatus can have only about 10% complete recovery rate, the cancer thermotherapy apparatus of the present invention can develop the complete recovery rate up to about 50%.